The Year of the Dragon begins Saturday, Feb. 4. According to tradition, the year will be ruled by the beast that is the most powerful sign in the Chinese zodiac. The Bay Area, with its rich Chinese culture, has a host of events planned.

Three of the Big Four broadcast networks have sold airtime to Barack Obama for a 30-minute prime-time speech at 8 ET/PT tonight, leaving ABC's Pushing Daisies as your only scripted entertainment option. And it promises to be a good one as Stephen Root guests in an episode that sends the team undercover at a dim sum restaurant. It would be nice to see a few more viewers go undercover with them.

Even before neuroscientist Zach Hall was formally given the job Tuesday to run California's $3 billion stem cell research institute, his salary came under fire. Now that legal challenges have been addressed, though, Hall says his first task will be to hire scientific staff.

The ins and outs, quirks and curiosities of a city can take many years to learn. If that doesn't quite fit into your time-frame, you're in luck. With these tips, you'll need to feel like a local in no time.